Greening the NHS 1: tackling the climate crisis and aiming for net zero

How sustainable care models and quality improvement initiatives, along with options for more sustainable ways to live, are ways of taking action in the face of a climate emergency

Abstract

Climate change poses a great risk to public health, with predicted catastrophic effects. Avoidable deaths are already occurring and millions more are predicted, while healthcare is also responsible for around 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As nurses, we can play a vital role in tackling the problem, and we need to act now. But what can we do? This article is the first in a series looking at how nurses can take action to develop and promote more-sustainable care models.

Citation: Hayes A (2023) Greening the NHS 1: tackling the climate crisis and aiming for net zero. Nursing Times [online]: 119; 8.

Author: Angela Hayes is clinical nurse specialist in supportive and palliative care, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. She has led on clinical sustainability projects at the trust.